Scholarship is a Game

The secret to getting scholarships that all scholars know and others don't

Photo by Cláudio Luiz Castro on Unsplash

Last week, I reconnected with an old friend who was telling me about her study abroad journey. She told me she had applied to 23 universities for Fall 2024, having a mix of master's and PhD programs. But she only got one admission (without any funding), although she finished with a first-class. I had my suspicions on why that might have happened, but I kept listening.

When she was done, my suspicions were confirmed. I had picked the major reason why she faced so many rejections. She was not intentional about selling herself.

Her strategy for getting scholarships was to apply for as many as possible, and hopefully, one would click. After all, you only need one "Yes," right?

That strategy is for those who have a lot of time and money—time to fill out many applications and money to keep paying (application fees, sending official transcripts, transcript evaluation, etc.). This strategy is equivalent to hoping and praying. It has no guarantees.

There is a better strategy.

Who Gets Scholarships?

After speaking with several scholars here in the US, I started noticing patterns. Then I came up with a simple formula for the people who get scholarships.

Scholarships are given to people with great minds and big potential.

If you can show these in your application documents, you will be awarded the scholarship.

Notice, I didn't say if you have a great mind and big potential.

This is one reason why first-class graduates don't get scholarships, but 2-2 graduates do.

You don't need to be intelligent. You don't need to be smart (It is a plus if you are). All you need to do is show that you are from the work you've done in the past.

What do I mean?

I take everything in life as a game. A game has rules, challenges, and rewards. To win a game, you need to do 3 things:

1. Learn the rules of the game.

2. Apply those rules to attempt challenges (in increasing levels of difficulty).

3. Complete all challenges.

If you do these 3 things for scholarships, you will win. It also applies to getting closer to God, getting married, getting into tech, or even getting a first class. Learn, apply, and complete.

The game of scholarship has rules, and you need to be a top player.

The Best Scholarship Strategy

Scholarships are investments, so you must show that you are worth investing in. You shouldn't just say you have potential; you need to show it.

And sometimes it takes time to show that you have it. It doesn't happen overnight.

Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.

~Abraham Lincoln

A better scholarship strategy is to take the time to improve your profile (sharpen the axe) before you apply to any school (chop down the tree).

It might take money and time to sharpen the axe, but when you do, you'll have results. You are now being intentional about your money and your time.

Suggestions of things you can do to sharpen your axe:

• Writing the GRE

• Evaluating your transcript (if your CGPA is low)

• Doing certifications

• Having strong recommenders

• Ensuring all your documents are reviewed

The list goes on and on. These are just suggestions, and you don't have to do all of them.

Always put yourself in the shoes of the admission committee. Before applying, ask yourself, "If I don't know this person, will I invest $30,000 into them?"

That's what my friend did before applying again for Fall 2025, and this time she got a lot of scholarships.

That’s it!

As always, thanks for reading.

Hit reply and let me know what you found most helpful this week—I’d love to hear from you!

Nzube Ohalete (Find me on YouTube or X)

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Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

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